But I beat you, after all.

I've got three ducks." "Where are they?
I don't see but two." "The other is over there in the bushes, somewhere." Frank immediately commenced looking for it, and Archie procured a long branch, and waded out as far as possible into the creek, and, after considerable exertion and a thorough wetting, succeeded in pulling both of his ducks to the shore.
During the three weeks that followed, the boys passed the time in various ways--sometimes hunting in the woods or on the river, but more frequently working in the shop.

They also spent considerable time in attending to their pets.

The young otter proved to be the most interesting little animal they had ever seen.

He grew quite tame, and when the boys entered the room where he was kept, he would come toward them, uttering a faint whine, and, if they seated themselves, he would jump up into their laps, and search through their pockets for something to eat--such as bread or crackers, of which the boys always took especial care to have a good supply.
At length they began to long for winter, and many were the speculations as to when the "first fell of snow" would come.